Compelling graphics are essential to effective web marketing – especially in the realm of social media! Join Schipul’s Creative Services Designer, Erica Bogdan, as she demonstrates what key tips and tools you’ll need to know for creating stellar graphics for your company’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Here are some of the cool tips this webinar covers:

How social media is growing for businesses as a free and effective marketing tool to create open dialogue with clients. Kick-butt graphics will make your Facebook and Twitter pages stand out from the crowd!

Awesome resource links to find images, fonts, and free alternatives to Photoshop so you can start creating your own graphics today!

How to incorporate branding consistency across multiple social media platforms and how to uploading your graphics onto your Facebook and Twitter once you’ve finished creating them!

The web is buzzing right now about Google+ and Facebook’s new video calling feature. Both offer different features and draw backs. Some people are raving fans, others can’t stand one platform or another. One way or another, it’s my opinion that video chat will become much more prevalent and common so I’m excited to see the big guys innovating. I’ve put together a brief comparison below so you can see what each platform offers and if it will suit your needs.

Last week Schipul was a proud sponsor of the 2011 AllFacebook Conference in San Francisco. Two days full of awesome brain-candy, all centered around the number one social platform, and how groups and businesses can better use it. The overwhelming theme was “Quality versus Quantity”.

More important than the number of fans you have for your page is how much those fans interact with you. More important than how often you update your page is the kinds of things you’re sharing and questions you’re asking. A few tips to help you get the most from your Facebook page:

Give people a reason to like and engage with you. Contests, coupons, earn rewards, etc. Social media is an escape, you’ve got to make people smile and make them want to share. People share because it expresses something about who they are. They share if they believe it to be beneficial to their friends. In contrast, people who enter a contest on your page aren’t likely to tell their friends they did so. We’re gamers at heart and we don’t want the competition! Instead, find a social reason for people to share your content. Keep contests simple – let people use content they already have. If you’re making folks create a video or take a photo, that’s a barrier to participation. The easier it is the more engaging it is.

It’s too early in the social media spectrum to have a guaranteed recipe for what works. You’ve got to watch what others are doing and learn from them. You have to be willing to try things out and make mistakes. Make sure you’re documenting the things you do try, so you’re able to gauge the response and know what your audience responds to.

Think of Facebook as a cocktail party. You’re not looking to meet someone and have them sign a contract on the spot; you’re looking to start a relationship. A great way to do that is with social context ads. Those are the ads that you’ll see in the sidebar which indicate which of your friends are already fans of the product or service. They improve your ad recall by 68%, and make you 4 times as likely to buy. Crazy stat time: If you’ve got 350,000 fans on your page, you’re then able to reach the entire U.S. population via those social connections. Start those conversations now!

Social media often gets the leftovers from other campaigns. It’s the “behind the scenes” access and leftover footage. That doesn’t sell the dream of your product. Whether you are marketing to individuals or businesses, your product has a dream to offer; that idea that if I use your service my life will be more glamorous, or that I can accomplish all my goals. Your company needs to become the enabler that allows me to achieve the dream. Your task is to define that dream for your product and make sure that your social media platforms are effectively selling it.

Get your fans engaged every time. Easier said than done, right? A simple way is to make a very strong statement and then ask for a response. Think along the lines of “Houston is the best city in the entire world, don’t you agree?” Remember that you’re competing with your fan’s friends in their timeline. Your message has to be engaging enough to stand out amongst the talk of new babys, boyfriend drama, and cute bunny photos. Once you get a conversation going, never leave a question unanswered on your wall. It’s the whole point of social. But be careful to not run over the conversation either – you don’t have to comment on every comment made.

It may seem a little surprising to have two full days of nothing but talking about Facebook, but I think it’s a great example of just how much this social platform has become a core part of our lives. The challenge for businesses is to find a spot in the system that is ultimately built for social connections. The best way to do that is for page owners to talk to fans like they are friends. Authenticity and transparency are super important when building these relationships. Facebook isn’t going away, so it’s key for businesses to claim their spot now and start listening to consumers.

Facebook announces group and video chat

This morning in Palo Alto, Facebook announced several new features rolling out today – group chat, a new chat design, and video chat (aka: ‘video calling‘). These are features that you likely already take advantage of using different platforms, but now it’s possible to take part in them via the Facebook application you’re using every day. In his announcement speech, Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly hit on the theme that the next 5 years in tech will be new applications and programs that use existing platforms.

Now that we’re all connected, the future will be about the cool stuff we can build to take advantage of that. He also stated that users are sharing at an exponential rate. And it’s not just a Facebook phenomenon, it’s an internet phenomenon. Users are no longer the metric to watch; it’s the amount of sharing each person is doing. Now go back and re-read the above points on how to make that content that people want to share. And of course, call us at Schipul if you need some help!

4 billion things are shared every day on Facebook, and now you have some new tools to do it. Group chat you’ll use for coordinating a dinner out or movie time with friends. Start a chat with your best friend, then easily add another. The new chat design makes this easier; instead of a small chat window at the bottom of your Facebook window, the new chat design will scale with your browser. You’re also able to easily send a message to anyone offline; you can even include them in a group chat and a full transcript will be sent to them. (So no talking bad about the people who aren’t there!)

Video chat is by far the most powerful new feature. Powered by Skype, you’re now able to start a chat with someone just by clicking a button on their profile or via a chat window. If they don’t have the application already, it will download for them in just 10-20 seconds. There’s no need to open a new program, add a new contact, and schedule a time to talk. It’s all on Facebook, where you already are. As the lead engineer for the product stated “If it was any easier than that one click, it would be reading your mind.” I think this has huge implications for how we communicate, because now even the most non-technical person can be up on video chat in no time. This might be a good time to evaluate having your parents as friends on Facebook!

The one-on-one intimacy is incredibly powerful. No matter how tech-savvy I consider myself, there’s something about being able to see and speak with a friend or loved one across the country that brings an emotional response. Seeing the demo this morning where that connection was made in a matter of seconds was amazing. I’ve got a few friends that I have connected with on Skype already, but now I’m able to chat with ALL of my friends, without having to do anything new. It’s amazing, and really solidifies Facebook’s place in the social spectrum.

So what about Google+?

As expected, there were a few questions about Google+ directed at Zuckerberg, specifically asking if the Facebook video chat would be expanded to allow for group chats, similar to the Hangout feature in Google+. Zuckerberg said that nothing is ruled out, but right now they’re focusing on the one-to-one experience. Personally speaking, I’m excited to see how this develops. And really excited to be able to easily connect with my friends.

Your customers just got a few more reasons to hang out on Facebook all day – make sure you’re there with them! Fortunately, Schipul is here to help.

Meet the Schipul new guys! We’re thrilled to have these rock stars working with us! Check out the links below to visit their various social sites, or click here to see some of the jobs currently posted at Schipul!

In an effort to keep up with HTML5, just like Vimeo, YouTube has started to implement <iframe>s for their <embed> codes as a means of displaying their videos. By doing so, it allows a wider variety of devices to view an embedded YouTube (or Vimeo) video.

However, for all you developers out there, this means the old-school way of fixing a CSS-only drop-down menu from going behind an embed code no longer works. Previously (and this still works with the old code), you had to use z-index and wmode=”transparent” to make sure your menus show in front of the video.

SXSW for Breakfast

Lots was said, the panel switched from speaker to speaker and became very interactive, which was a great way to get different perspectives and address the audience’s question. There were also some great take-a-ways for those of us who could not attend SXSW interactive.

The Next Big Thing

Brian Truax knows that the biggest “next big thing” seems to be the “game layer”. That little nudge given by brands on social media platforms that compels us to take part in a game or content. The game layer can be a very popular tool for customer acquisition and loyalty while simultaneously motivating consumers to act.

Social Media is staying put

All the panelists today agreed that some people think that social media is on its way out (yes, some of you out there think that) and the game layer will take its place. The truth is, however that the game layer is not replacing social media but only building upon it. It’s the next level of social media. The next big thing.

Brands, now, have to become accustomed to behaving within a different type of relationship online.

There is a need for businesses to pivot the direction of a brand or product based on new developments in technology, brands, or consumer needs and wants. This can only keep their brand relevant and in the public eye.

The Core Conversation sessions at SXSW were great, as agreed by some members of today’s panel, but the audience was also heeded to prepare for next year by take a list of things you want to learn. This way, if you aren’t learning them, find people who can answer them for you or stay for Q and A at the end of sessions.

Unfortunately, some companies are finding new ways to use black hat methods to increase conversion. Some facebook ads were used as examples for this.

Social media behavior was also big in today’s Social Media Breakfast. Standard social norms carry over to the social media realm as well and if a person or a business can’t conduct themselves accordingly, it can get awkward.

A company’s attempt humanize themselves in social media platforms can backfire depending on how an interaction was conducted. This is where the “game layer” comes into play. It provides a way for a brand to interact on a fun and casual level with anyone in the social media world.

It was a great panel with best of the best geek-filtered info from SXSW . Javier even brought Ogilvy notes from SXSW for everyone to see, which was awesome bonus. A video of today’s session coming soon, so anyone who couldn’t make it can soak up all the SXSW interactive they can. We’ll keep you posted.

Attend today’s Social Media Breakfast? What were your take-a-ways from the panel?

This year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) was one for the record books. CiviCRM was a buzz, making open-source software the hero for a multitude of constituent management woes. Speaking of CRMs, have you ever heard of a SocialCRM, yep…it’s coming people! And of course there was Google, never one to show up empty handed, launching “Google for Nonprofits” with the most adorable chocolate bars in tow. There were so many new, and often misspelled, online fund-raising technologies being discussed that many might have walked away a tad overwhelmed.

So what’s an organization to do? What is the best way to raise money online?

One word – VIDEO. And let me tell you why…

While meandering around NTC, a session caught my eye called, “Videos that Raise Money” (See3 Communications). I like videos, and I like helping our nonprofit clients raise money so I figured this would be a win/win situation. Then BAM…statistics were thrown right in my face:

“In December 2010 ComScore reported that 85% of US internet users watched online video, 88.6 million people watched online video on an average single day and the average American spent more than 14 hours watching online video (ComScore, February 2011)”

Geez, whatever happened to playing outside, but I digress…

This data cannot be ignored, and with all of the inexpensive ways to produce videos, nonprofits need to utilize this growing audience to increase awareness and of course, increase online donations.

Ok, so where should an organization begin? According to the guys over at See3, fund-raising has a life cycle and video becomes increasingly relevant during each stage.

Video Fund-raising Life Cycle

Awareness & Identification

Get people to think about the problem and how your organization is dealing with it; and remember, simplicity can force someone to listen.

I attended a screening of Warhol on TV presented by Aurora Picture Show at the Menil Collection last Friday night. The film was a collection of excerpts of works created by and featuring Andy Warhol. The film was curated by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA.

Andy Warhol’s obsession with celebrity and the lives of the rich in famous is well documented, and very evident in the film. What hit me was his fervent dedication to documenting his life and the world around him in photographs and video. Take this photo I took of a video of Andy being done up in drag.

In today’s pop culture, our obsession with the lives of the rich and famous is at an all time high. The entire Charlie Sheen saga has been a grim reminder of how much we thirst for a good celebrity train wreck. But a democratization of the velvet rope has occurred with the proliferation of camera phones. Whether it is the video of Cyndi Lauper singing Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun in an airport terminal . . .

Or a little girl singing the new Lady GaGa single . . .

There are moments of Warholian fascination being born (this way) every day. It’s had me thinking about what Andy Warhol’s art would have looked like if he was armed with an iPhone. The glut of photography apps on the iPhone, particularly those dedicated to creating a vintage look to your photos, make your iPhone reminiscent of Warhol’s ubiquitous cameras. Here are a couple of my favorites

Instagram is incredibly simple. Take a picture, apply a cool filter, share with other user and over your social networks. They recently added hashtag support allowing users to tag their photos, making them searchable. Instagram is great to get quick snaps of random things going on around you. The in-app feed is great for those moments when you want to just look at something interesting in the middle of the day. You can also like and comment on your friends photos. There is also a Popular button that takes you to a collection of the most liked photos taken by Instagram users.

I’ll warn you now, this app can lead to a serious obession. I LOVE Hipstamatic. While the app comes with a nice set of equipment up front, the real fun is adding the Hipstapaks, expanding your lens, film and camera options. I doubt I’ll ever learn how to use this app to its fullest potential, but I know it’s going to be fun trying. Another great feature of this app is the Hipstamart. You can upload photos from your phone into the Hipstamart, and order high quality prints! They come in a nifty little envelope that folds into a stand-up frame.

Hipstamatic just takes great photos. You can also share them in Instagram, doubling the AWESOME! One more thing, if you’re going to be using Hipstamatic, you might as well invest in SwankoLab as well. It’s like having an entire dark room in your pocket!

I haven’t been able to use 8mm as much as I would like. As you can probably imagine, it turns your iPhone into an 8mm camera. Like Hipstamatic, it comes with a small collection of lenses and films to experiment with. Turn your videos into home movies from yesteryear!

Fortunately, the bad fashion from the 70’s is not included.

With an iPhone and these apps, anyone can lead the life of Andy Warhol. And getting your 15 minutes of fame just got a bit easier. Happy content creating!

The Future of Drupal (8)

For the most part of the keynote, Dries hammered home the fact that Drupal 8 must work for all devices (no longer the desktop); the number of smartphones in the past year has increased exponentially and it would be egregious to miss that market.

Dries also wanted to note that if you have two platforms, Drupal and some other CMS, the one that always wins out is the one with the better “ecosystem.” For example, the reason the iPhone wins out over competitors (that might even have a better product or coverage), is due to the ecosystem they’ve created: the App Store, the Apps themselves, the culture, etc. Dries wants to ensure that the Drupal ecosystem is not just stable, but thrives moving into the next generation Web platform.

When creating Drupal 7, Dries met with 20 major market CTOs (e.g. Time Magazine), and asked them what the biggest issues facing the then current state of Drupal was. He said two bubbled to the top: Configuration and Administration. These were added directly to the direction of D8.

Media Module for Drupal 7 only

Albert Hughes spent some of his time in a session that discussed the way Drupal 7 will handle and update media in the Drupal system:

Media is now treated closer to what one would consider a “node”, e.g. you can add fields like “caption”.

You can also now upload a file and reference it throughout the site, as opposed to have it attached to a custom content type node.

“Uploads” or the “File Attachments” have been taken away to make things more clean and streamlined.

However, one of the main reasons this was taken away isn’t because of the Media module, but because the FileField module in Drupal 6 was added to core.

“Monster (Drupal Remix)”

And of course, both A.Hughes and D.Stagg spent a lot of time throwing out moocards getting people to visit http://bit.ly/drupalmonster. And if you don’t want to click, we’ll provide the embed for you 😉